Hull City's Championship settling-in process complicates Liam Rosenior's selections with Benjamin Tetteh back from ban

But it may not quite be as straight-forward as that with Benjamin Tetteh one of a group of players coach Liam Rosenior is still having to build up physically and mentally for the unique rigours of Championship football.

Tetteh is back from a three-match suspension for Tuesday's game at Carrow Road but when the 25-year-old Ghanaian was sent off against Sheffield United, it was towards the end of only his third appearance since early September, all from the bench. He has only played two full Championship games since joining from Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor in the summer.

So if Aaron Connolly is unable to play, Rosenior will have to give careful thought to whether Tetteh is ready to replace him, and how many minutes to ask of him if he does. Hull are back in action at Preston North End on Saturday.

Connolly went off with a foot injury in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Stoke City, and is looking doubtful.

"We're checking on him and we'll see how he is, we'll give him the most amount of time to recover and see if he will be fit for the game, but at the minute, I'm not sure if he's going to be fit,” said Rosenior.

"Benji's back, and I've got to be conscious we were trying to build him back to fitness from being out for a while and then he came back in and got sent off, so I've got to be conscious of him, and his situation.

"It's great to have another fantastic option to work with, and hopefully, we'll build his levels up and get him to the right place."

Hull have moved into the top half more on the back of defensive solidity than attacking flair, keeping clean sheets in their last three matches but only scoring 12 goals in 11 matches since the World Cup break – with seven coming against Wigan Athletic and Queens Park Rangers.

Tetteh has not had much luck with the Blades, injuring his hamstring when the sides met in East Yorkshire in September.

Injury has been a constant theme of Hull's season but another factor –not entirely unrelated – is that a big chunk of the squad are experiencing Championship, and often English, football for the first time. The summer revamp was based largely around players like Tetteh who were new to this country and too often carrying injuries when they arrived.

Those players have an acclimatisation to come through.

"I've got Malcolm (Ebiowei, who joined on loan from Crystal Palace last month) as well who needs building up and came on for 30 minutes on Saturday.

"What I was planning and hoping for when I came in was a smaller squad but a squad full of quality.

"I'm starting to get that now. Allahyar (Sayyadmanesh) is coming back, he's in training now although he's still a little further away (two to three weeks is expected).

"It's great for me, it allows me through March and April to freshen up the team but at the moment we've got to keep rolling and keep being consistent.

"On the pitch, we looked at the statistics – the Championship is the highest intensity for running in all of Europe, in terms of the volume of games that you have, the (shortest average) recovery time, how much distance you have to cover at high-intensity distances, that's a huge shock for players.

"I was fortunate enough to play in the Premier League and the Championship, and in some games, it's like a different sport. The Premier League is very structured and organised, it's almost cleaner and tidier.

"Some games in the Championship, it's like a basketball match every single game, so it's a massive culture change but the players are acclimatising all the time and I couldn't be happier."

To be charitable, that adjustment may have contributed to Tetteh's loss of control at Bramall Lane, where he was sent off for an attempted headbutt on Oli McBurnie, but it is certainly something the Tigers need to nip in the bud.

"I've spoken to Benji about it," said Rosenior. "He's a lovely lad off the pitch, I don't want him to lose that aggressive streak on the pitch but there are levels to it and he went beyond that level at Sheffield United.

"This season has been a great learning tool for a lot of the players that have come in, especially from abroad, in terms of what the Championship actually looks like and how difficult a league it really is.

"Dimi (Pelkas)'s improvement has been massive, Ozan (Tufan)'s improving all the time in terms of his understanding of the league, Oscar (Estupinan), too, it takes time for players to come from abroad and Benji's just one of those players.

"I feel really comfortable with all of them now in their understanding of what the Championship is."

Midfielder Adama Traore is another continuing to build his fitness.

Last six games: Norwich City LLWWLL; Hull City DWWLDLReferee: D Whitestone (Northampton)Last time: Norwich City 3 Hull City 2, March 13, 2019, Championship